There were suggestions by local officers and members of the communities involved that the victims included people who were targeted because of their pro-independence political backgrounds, and that former militia members were involved; however, the precise motivation for the violence in Atsabe, the source of support for the assailants and the degree to which they were part of a larger group have not been satisfactorily established.
Funcionarios locales y miembros de las comunidades afectadas sugirieron que entre las víctimas había personas a las que se había atacado a causa de sus antecedentes políticos favorables a la independencia y que habían participado antiguos miembros de las milicias; no obstante, todavía no se ha establecido satisfactoriamente la motivación precisa de la violencia en Atsabe, la fuente de apoyo de los atacantes y en qué medida formaban parte de un grupo más grande.